Making an Exception
by junealii
Summary: Emily and Dave have been in a secret relationship for awhile, what happens when Dave wants something more?  Will sparks fly or will things burst into flames?
1. Chapter 1

**So here's another story that has been on my mind lately. Once again I have to thank Kate aka flashpenguin for all of her help and interesting conversations. This story and the title are somewhat inspired by "The Only Exception" by Paramore**. **Keep an eye out for the next two parts of this story, cause I'm gonna try to finish this because I have to start packing. Much Love!**

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For once in his life, David Rossi knew what he truly wanted more than anything else in the world, he wanted Emily Prentiss. He wanted a life with her; she meant more to him than any other before her. She didn't believe it, how could she, he had been married three times after all. Deep down, he knew Emily felt he wasn't serious, that this is just a whim, but it wasn't. His intentions were genuine but her fears were real.

She saw how unhappy her parents were while she was growing up; she had seen many a good- even wonderful- love go bad. It's not that Em didn't want Dave, she did. She just can't handle surrendering herself fully to another person. Her reasons were legitimate though but Dave's feelings were too.

For a man who was married three times, Dave Rossi should know his feelings, but now he was more confused than ever. He loved Emily, he knew that, he wanted her to be a part of his life, would she? They had never really talked about how they felt, and now that Dave felt that it was necessary, it might be too later. Of course he had doubts- _all_ healthy relationships should at some point- but they never talked about them. Now he wanted to clear his doubts but lately Emily was drawing herself away from him, and he wondered why.

He had briefly wondered if a smart, beautiful woman like Emily Prentiss would want someone like him, would want to be with him, and would hopefully want to be a bigger part of his life. For once in his life, he didn't rush into the idea of love, it rushed to him. By their third date, he knew that Emily was the final one for him. He didn't rush into the idea of settling down either, much like he had before in all his past marriages, he put a lot of thought behind it. He wanted to be with Emily Prentiss, so one day he decided that he was going to tell her of his intentions, but her fears got in the way.

"I don't get it Em!" Dave shouted raising an eyebrow as well as his voice. "Really, I just don't."

"What's there not to get Dave?" Emily replied throwing her hands about in frustration.

"I want to be with you, is it that hard to believe?"

"Dave, you have been married three times; you are a world-class Lothario, you can't be serious."

"Damn it Emily! That's not me anymore!" Dave argued, furrowing his eyebrows in anger.

"That isn't true," Emily replied shaking her head slightly as her voice dripped with venom.

"Fuck! It is! That isn't me! This is me, right here right now."

"Don't try to placate me David," she said through clenched teeth.

"Damn Em, I care about you! Don't you know that?" Dave shouted.

"I know you do. And I think that deep down inside you may even love me. But that's not what I want. That's not what I need. Not from you." Emily replied in a slightly hushed tone.

"What do you need Em?" Dave asked stepping towards her.

"I'm sorry David. I can't do this. It sounds so cliché, but it's not you, it's me. " Emily said grabbing her purse and heading for the door. Dave stood there in his anger, confusion and rejection, watching silently as Emily Prentiss walked out of his door for the last time.

As soon as the tumblers clicked in the door, Dave was already pouring himself as glass of scotch. Dave knew that the scotch wouldn't take away the raging emotions but it could at least take the edge off the pain. So that's what he did, he drink just enough to forget, just enough to take the edge off. He also knew that the memories would come back in the morning, no matter how much he drink, so he sat alone in the silence of his house holding his empty scotch glass in his hand, staring at the bottle on the table.

Dropping her purse on the ground by the door, Emily shifted across the room towards the couch, where she planted herself and she finally began to feel sorry for herself. She thought about the things she had, the things she would miss, but she never once thought her decision was a mistake. She wished that things would be different and they could have worked out, but it couldn't, not between them.

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Sitting in his office, Dave glanced down at the beautiful brunette who was once part of his life outside of the team. She was happy, it had been months since she told him that 'it's not you, it's me', how long before he could find happiness too? Some profiler he is sometimes, little did he know, everyday at work, Emily put on a front, a false face, she wasn't happy, she was confused, had she done the right thing?

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"Rebecca Pruitt, 25," JJ started as the face of a pretty redhead popped up on screen, "was found yesterday morning in the prostitution district of LA. This is the 11th prostitute that has turned up in the past 2 months. All of them were raped, and stabbed multiple times. The Unsub also shaved their heads." JJ pressed the clicker as another picture came up on the screen.

"Well, he definitely has a type," Emily pointed out.

"He also has a signature," Dave added.

"Interracial rape crimes are rare, so we know that he is a Caucasian male between the ages of 20 and 40," Hotch observed before standing from his chair. "Wheels up in 30."

"Once we land, Reid, I want you on victimology with Garcia. Dave and Prentiss, you two go and interview Rebecca's parents. Morgan, you and I are going to the crime scene," Hotch said before everyone scattered to their respective spot.

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Dave and Emily sit in silence as they drive towards the Pruitt residence in Valley Village- a subsection of North Hollywood. Rounding the corner, Dave took a glance at his partner and tried to judge her mood. He had to ask her an important question and it was now or never.

"Em, I know how you feel about me, but I need to know that you have my back. I have to know that you can set aside our personal problems and will be there if I need you. You're my partner and I need to know that you trust me with your life. Can you do that Em?" Dave asked as the SUV came to a stop at the curb.

"Yes, it's my job." Emily opened the door and climbed out without a second glance at Dave.

"Emily! I'm serious. You have to put it aside." Dave said grabbing Emily's hand pulling her to a stop.

"I have put it aside Dave, everyday for months. I can do it," Emily replied as a wealth of emotions crossed her face. Then she pulled her hand away from Dave's.

He watched as Emily slipped back into Prentiss mode, for which he was glad, she was compartmentalizing, which was good for both of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry that I've don't update right away, I have been trying to pack for college. I'm leaving on friend and still have so much to pack. Once again I have thank Kate aka flashpenguin, for being amazing! So one more chapter that will hopefully be out before I have to leave. Much Love!**

"So what did you guys find out about our victim?" Hotch asked as Emily and Dave came back into the room.

"Nothing that would have indicated she knew her killer," Dave replied. "She was a straight A student who managed to hook up with the wrong guy. Typical story."

"Nothing typical about your boyfriend introducing you to a life of prostitution," Emily huffed. She had sat next to Dave on the ride over, during the interview, and the ride back. Twice he had tried to make conversation with her and she rejected it.

"Perhaps, but a lot of women get into prostitution thru boyfriends and lovers. It's a well known fact," Dave countered.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You wrote about this in your fourth book," Emily dismissed him in a haughty tone.

Hotch glanced at his two agents. Something was amiss and it wasn't the case and the murder victim.

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"Dave" Hotch said as the team scattered to their respective jobs. He waited until the last member of the team was out of the room before he closed the door and faced his longtime friend. "What's going on with you and Prentiss?"

"Nothing" Dave answered truthfully.

"Well, whatever it is, I don't want it to disrupt the team and put lives in jeopardy, Dave."

"You know as well as I do that Emily has an uncanny ability to keep things professional."

"I know that Dave. Prentiss is a great agent. But I was asking can_ you_?" Hotch said glancing back at his friend and joining his team.

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"Devin Nickels is on the verge of a psychotic break, everyone have your guard up when you go in," Hotch stated clearly as his team strapped on their vests. "Dave and Reid go in the front, and clear the first floor while Morgan and Prentiss go in the back. The sheriff and I will take the perimeter."

"Wait, we know that Nickels is violent with a volatile personality, he's on edge, so be careful," Dave reiterated before the team split and headed to their position to await the signal.

Plastered against the front wall of the house, Dave looked over at Reid and sized him up. This was their first time partnering and though he wasn't nervous, he wondered about Reid's shooting ability. The first time the kid had taken down an UNSUB, it had been a complete fluke. He didn't need flukes if things went wrong.

"Reid," Dave whispered. "I need to know you have my back."

"Yes."

"You sure you don't want to go in first? I can cover you and the area." Dave didn't make this offer lightly; something was off in his gut.

"No, I can do this," Reid assured both himself and Dave as they listened to Hotch give the order through their earpieces. Together, they went in. Reid went left and Dave went right.

With his gun held high, Dave scanned the entryway to the house before stepping to the left and clearing the nearest room. Dave took in the white walls, bare of any picture frames or paintings.

"Clear!" Dave yelled exiting the room and heading back towards the entryway. At that moment Dave felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Stunned, he fell to his knees, still grasping his service pistol. Suddenly, strong hands grabbed him.

"You really think that you could stop me?" Nickels yelled as he shoved Dave against the nearest wall, just seconds before Dave felt the butt of Nickels pistol collide with the side of his face again. Nickels who, when compared to Dave, was younger, bigger and relatively stronger, and had gained the upper-hand and intended to keep it that way.

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Emily and Morgan waited outside the house for Reid and Dave to call in that their part of the house had been cleared. The seconds continued to pass, the feeling in Emily's gut got stronger, something had gone wrong inside that house, and she needed to know what. No matter what her feelings towards Dave might have been at that moment in time, she was his partner and she had his back.

"Derek? Something's up, I feel it," Emily whispered as they waited behind the house.

"Em, we can't do anything about it until we get a signal," Derek replied taking in the anxious look on his friend's face.

"Derek, cover me. I have to go in." Emily readied her gun and stepped toward the door. She got a few feet from the door before she turned to face Derek one last time.

"I've got you. Go!" Derek told her as she turned back towards the house and disappeared through the backdoor. "Hotch, we have a problem. Em is going in and I'm covering her."

"Don't let her out of your sight," came the reply thru his earpiece.

Emily cleared the kitchen and the dinner room again, before turning to clear Reid and Dave's part of the house. Her suspicions were conformed when she saw Reid slouched against the wall. Lowering her gun she stepped towards the younger agent

"Reid?" Emily whispered kneeling down beside him, she noticed the gash on his forehead and that he wasn't responding but he was breathing.

"How is he?" Morgan asked, concerned, his fingertips seeking out and finding a pulse.

"I'm gonna find Rossi. Stay here with Reid," Emily ordered. Standing up, she made her way down the hall, her senses on full alert.

Reaching the last stretch of hallway, Emily paused before rounding the corner bringing her face to face with Nickels.

As soon as Nickels saw Emily, he pulled Dave forcefully off the ground, pressing his gun against Dave's temple. Emily held herself steady as she tried to get a line on Nickels.

"If you have a shot Em, take it," Dave ordered as Nickels pressed the gun deeper into his temple.

"I can't, not without hitting you too," Emily countered as she continued to hold her line steady and pushed away any feelings for Dave. She wouldn't let that get in her way even though it decided to pop up and try to occupy her mind at the least opportune time.

"Not him Em, me," Dave told her in a calm voice. He watched the emotions flash across Emily's face as those words came from his mouth. Emily knew that if she was to shoot the Unsub, that she would still be putting Dave's life in danger, because the gun could still go off, but she couldn't shoot Dave, not when she still loved him.

"You would never shoot your partner," Nickels pointed out as Emily continued to hesitate. "You wouldn't dare."

"First of all, he's not my partner. Second of all, you have no idea how many women would love to be in my shoes right now! I am going to go down in FBI history for being the person who shoots David Rossi," Emily countered, narrowing her eyes on the target.

"Em? Can I call you that? Em, you won't shoot him." Nickels taunted. Emily looked at Dave one last time. He mouthed three simple words to her: I trust you.

"Wanna bet?" Emily said placing her finger on the trigger. "As soon as I shoot him, I'm shooting you." Seconds after the words came out of her mouth, she nailed Dave with a clean shot to the shoulder. Dave crumpled to the ground, and Emily trained her gun on Nickels and quickly lodged a bullet into his skull.

Emily rushed past Nickel's lifeless body and helped Dave off the ground. "Don't you dare thank me for saving your life; I did exactly what any other woman wants to say they have done...except I missed."

"Thanks Em."

"I said don't thank me Dave. But next time I won't miss," Emily bit out thru clenched teeth just seconds before Hotch made his presence known.

Emily watched as Dave was loaded into the ambulance and Hotch climbed in with him. Little did she know that Hotch heard what she said and was gonna get some answers one way or another.

Hotch sat back and said nothing while the EMTs attached an IV in Dave's left arm and gave him a shot of Demerol. Hotch waited a few minutes before leaning forward with furrowed eyebrows.

"Dave, we need to talk." Hotch lifted Dave's oxygen mask and waited for his agent's response.

"Hotch, they're giving me narcotics." Dave begged off.

"Damn right they are, now you won't be able to feed me any of your bullshit. Now talk!"

"Emily and I were together." Dave stated in a serious voice.

"Well, no shit Sherlock!" Hotch replied through clenched teeth. "Now, what happened in there?"

"She shot me. I think that's pretty evident Aaron."

"Congratulations Dave! You get to keep your badge and credentials for another day. I want to know: why did she shoot you?"

"She was aiming for my head and missed."

"You know that she shot Nickels in the head right?" Hotch said as Dave groaned.

Hotch looked at the EMT. "How long before the Demerol kicks in?"

"Not much longer. Why?"

Dave looked worried. "Yeah, why?"

Hotch leaned back on the jump seat and glared, a small smirk tugged at his mouth.

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Emily sat at her desk with her pen in hand. she didn't know what to write on the report and all she could think about were those three words that Dave mouthed: _I trust you_. Emily had never not heard more important words in her life. She glanced up towards Dave's office for a second and watched him through the window before diverting her gaze to her work in front of her.

"So Em, how do you plan to explain this to Strauss?" JJ asked before she even reached Emily's desk.

"I don't know," Emily whispered.

"Strauss is gonna wonder why you just didn't kill him," JJ said sarcastically as Emily stood up from her chair without saying a word. She stood outside Dave's door for a few minutes as the tears continued to well in her eyes. Finally, she gathered the courage to knock.

"Come in" Dave said from behind the closed door. Emily took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

"Dave, we need to talk."


	3. Chapter 3

**This could be the end or it could only be the beginning. This story is my baby and I don't want to give it up just yet, so I might continue it. I'm gonna thank Kate aka flashpenguin once again for being amazing and helping me greatly with all my stories. This might be the last update for awhile or at lease until I get settled at college. Much Love!**

Emily knocked lightly on the door frame of Dave's office. She stepped inside before he could speak.

"Dave, we need to talk." Slowly she moved forward taking that final step until she was face to face with David Rossi.

"Come in and close the door," Dave requested not looking up from the mound of folders sitting on his desk.

"Dave?" Emily asked in a low tone, trying to keep her voice from betraying her real feelings. Dave looked up from his work, and met the eyes of the women in front of him. He knew what they needed to talk about and he was surprised that she would confront him here. Now.

"Emily, we can't do this here," Dave stated, setting down his pen. Emily furrowed her eyebrows in confused as one million thought ran through her mind.

"Are we ever gonna talk about it Dave?"

"What we need to talk about does not concern the BAU, hence my request not to discuss it here."

"We need to talk about what happened the other day," Emily pointed out.

"Everything that needed to be said about that was in your report and in mine," Dave countered. Picking up his pen, he went back to writing. "If you want to talk, you know where to find me." And with that, he casually dismissed her.

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Never again in her life did Emily Prentiss think that she would be driving towards David Rossi's house with the intent of doing more than passing by. She thought when she left almost 4 months ago that she would never go back; now here she was on her way back. She felt like a lost puppy that was finally returning home because without this place, without Dave, her life was empty. Of course she was scared, why wouldn't she be? She was in love with the legendary David Rossi but to her, he was so much more.

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On the drive back to his house, Dave thought about how often a woman like Emily Prentiss would come around. When weighed against the odds…probably never. But had he found her, and he wanted to have her, and no matter how much he hated to admit it, he needed her. Deep down inside his feelings for Emily were stronger than for any other woman before her. He also pondered her feelings because if she cared- really cared about him- would she have really left?

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Dave pushed open the door to his house; he already knew that Emily was inside because her car was out front. He keep his emotions, mainly his anger in check as he approached Emily, who was sitting on his couch with her feet under her, and her shoes kicked off, just like she used to. To him, it looked like she belonged there. Mudgie was in his normal spot. Why wouldn't he be? He was happy to have Emily home, almost as much as Dave was, but they weren't it the clear yet.

She looked disheveled, she looked lost, but most of all she looked torn, broken, and damaged, and it was all because of him, because of how he felt or rather shouldn't feel.

"You haven't really changed a thing about this place, it looks the same," Emily said as she rubbed Mudgie's head.

Dave tried to remain cool as he hung his keys on the nearby hook and his jacket in the closet. "I think the correct saying is: your place or mine; not your place is at mine."

"Are you trying to piss me off David?" Emily growled as she snapped her head in his direction.

"Is it working?" David questioned finally stepping into Emily's line of sight.

"You're the expert profiler with millions of books sold, you tell me."

"I'm pushing your buttons and you are responding. You wouldn't react this way if you didn't care Emily. The problem is you don't want to care," Dave pointed out.

"Don't want to care? What's that supposed to mean? I'm not the narcissistic loner that pushes everyone away Rossi, that's you!" Emily shouted in a fit of rage that was continuing to build. She swung her feet off the couch and sat up.

"Me? You're the one that left. Emily, you walked out not me."

"You forced my hand, you arrogant son of a bitch! You made me! I didn't want to leave, but you made it my only choice."

"I think my third wife said that same exact thing as she stormed out the door on her way to the lawyer's. I didn't force your hand sweetheart; you made your own choices. I just told you how I felt."

"As I was leaving, you egotistical ass! You waited until I was headed towards the door before you told me how you felt!"

"You gave me an ultimatum," Dave pointed out.

"I did no such thing, you arrogant son of a bitch."

"You already called me that, what else you got?" He said just to antagonize her.

"I don't know. You're the million copy selling author with a gift for words, you tell me. What would you like for me to call you that I haven't already said?"

Dave got quiet for a long moment. "How about 'husband'?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to respond to that?" Emily asked completely taken off guard.

"How about a yes?" Dave answered simply. He stepped toward her and sat down on the coffee table. Eye to eye he forced her to look at him.

"I can't."

"You can't or you won't? There is a difference."

"I don't know," Emily whispered hanging her head in defeat.

"You know Emily. You've always known what you want. What makes this any different?"

"It's not."

"It is. I think you're scared."

"Of course, I'm scared Dave. You're David Rossi and that in and of itself scare the hell out of me."

"Well, being in love for the first time is scaring the hell out of me. But you don't see me running for the door. I'm taking a chance laying this on the table. Tell me I'm not making a mistake Emily. Tell me what I need to hear from you to make me know that I'm capable of loving," Dave offered in as close to a pleading tone he was capable.

Emily sat in silence weighing his words. Mudgie looked up from Emily's lap at his owner before laying his head back down.

"Em, I know you love me. If you didn't you wouldn't have taken the risk of shooting me. You wouldn't have trusted me."

"I was aiming for something else but I missed."

"I don't think you did. And if you did it was on purpose. You know I don't have a heart, so that would have been the waste of a bullet. You've already said I have a big head... so I think you wanted to miss."

"I didn't miss. I shot what I was aiming for. I wanted you to feel pain, like I have for the past four months."

"It can't be anything compared to the pain I've had to endure working beside you and not being able to be close to you. Knowing I can't reach out and touch you. No bullet can compare to that."

"I wanted you to hurt. I mean really hurt," Emily confessed.

"I already do. Every night. Every day. If anything, the bullet felt like a kiss compared to the pain I've been feeling."

"I felt like my heart had been ripped out, and I couldn't breathe."

"Good. I wondered if you would ever admit your true feelings for me."

"I'm scared Dave." Emily whispered as Dave reached over and cupped her face with his hands.

"Me too."

"I want this so bad. I don't want to end up alone." Emily closed her eyes as Dave's thumbs stroked her cheeks.

"It's not as bad as people make it out to be. I should know. If it helps any, I've never been with anyone I love."

Emily opened her eyes in surprise. "What are you saying Dave?"

"That I could have avoided all of this and written you a note. Did I ever tell you that I suck at communication?"

"Maybe once or twice," Emily chuckled as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Well, they say that the third time is a charm."

"I hear the fourth time is even better," Emily whispered encouragingly.

"If I agree to let you keep calling me an arrogant anal retentive bastard, what may I call you?"

"Mrs. Rossi works fine."

Dave felt his heart skip a beat. "_Mrs._? I guess this means I can't call you Emily anymore?"

"Smart ass!"

"You love my smart ass."

"Yes I do. I love it even more when it's bare."

"Making demands already?" Dave murmured as he leaned in to nuzzle her neck. The coarse texture of his goatee tickled a path but it felt so good.

"Testing the waters. There's a lot of responsibility to being Mrs. David Rossi."

"The only responsibility you will have is to keep me happy."

"As I was saying..."

"Hmm hmmm." Dave was making a trail to the opening of her blouse while his fingers fumbled to loosen the button.

"Dave, what are you doing?"

"I told you my communication skills suck. I thought we could try non-verbal communication instead."

"Keep that up and this could be the start of your first long lasting relationship."

"Let's test it and see."

"Dave? Shut up!" she ordered as her mouth covered his for a long deep kiss.

For once Dave Rossi did as he was told. And he enjoyed it.


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